VP, Operational Excellence

JBT Marel•Chicago, IL

About The Position

The VP, Operational Excellence leads enterprise-wide relentless continuous improvement (RCI), manufacturing transformations, strategic planning, and health, safety, and environmental (HSE) governance across JBT Marel. The role works with businesses and operating units to improve performance, optimize the global manufacturing and service footprint, strengthen planning and inventory practices, and establish consistent operating standards. The position implements daily management and visual KPI systems; develops a pipeline of continuous improvement and productivity projects; applies Lean, Six Sigma, and other problem-solving methods; shares best practices; and deploys 80/20 tools through the JBT Marel Business System. It also supports site consolidation and expansion, product transfers and outsourcing, centers of excellence, asset management, advanced manufacturing, sales and service footprint changes, and Make Buy strategies. Strategic responsibilities include establishing inventory governance and tools, developing capacity planning, standardizing Sales, Inventory & Operations Planning (SIOP), improving master data management, and shifting operations toward pull systems. The role also establishes a global HSE framework for plants, operations, and field service, with accountability, adoption of safety standards and best practices, and alignment with ISO 45001/14001 system standards.

Responsibilities

Implement and support daily management at business sites, including visual boards for Safety, Quality, Delivery, Cost (SQDC), and Inventory, to drive actions, KPI improvement, and prioritization.
Maintain a pipeline of RCI and productivity projects that improve systems and processes and deliver hard and soft savings, including VAVE and product dress-down efforts.
Develop and support continuous improvement strategies using Lean, Six Sigma, and other methodologies; identify improvement opportunities, plan projects, address root causes, and implement changes.
Develop and share best practices across businesses and operating units, including a forum and checklist for reviewing and implementing approved practices.
Implement 80/20 tools and use or enhance KPIs to drive operational excellence through the JBT Marel Business System.
Develop and support site consolidation and expansion plans that optimize the global footprint, including lower-cost operations and an assembly, test, and ship model for food processing businesses.
Establish business cases for product transfers and outsourcing, and guide operating units in implementation while minimizing disruption and improving cost, quality, and delivery.
Support profitable growth at targeted manufacturing and warehouse distribution facilities, aiming for 75% capacity utilization, and support machining and fabrication centers of excellence for quick-turn service components.
Develop and implement asset management strategies to optimize equipment use and maintenance, publish equipment across the operations network, determine equipment use, and sell selected equipment for maximum value.
Review and propose advanced manufacturing technologies and methods to improve production efficiency and quality and advance equipment standardization where applicable.
Drive changes to the combined sales and service footprint to achieve yearly synergy targets, including facility consolidation, improved office use, property sales, and reduction of lease and dilapidation risks.
Support Make Buy strategies with sourcing teams, using business cases and holistic regional and global assessments to guide outsourcing or investment in internal capabilities.
Develop and implement inventory governance policies and tools, including inventory segmentation, dashboards, excess and obsolete inventory disposition, escalation processes, and action plans.
Build capacity planning tools to assess capacity and utilization across the JBT Marel footprint and support manufacturing transformation strategies and progress monitoring.
Organize and support a standardized SIOP process at each business or operating unit, with a regular cross-functional cadence to align forecasts, capacity, inventory, production, procurement, and supplier schedules with sales plans and market trends.
Ensure consistent and accurate supply chain master data, control additions of parts, customers, and suppliers, normalize parts to eliminate duplicate SKUs, and include relevant logistics and certification data.
Drive the shift from push to pull systems for manufacturing, assembly, and component procurement.
Establish a global HSE framework and governance for plants, operations, and field service across operating units.
Drive adoption of safety standards and best practices and establish standards for PPE catalogs, safety, and health procedures.
Ensure plants and sites comply with the global HSE framework in alignment with ISO 45001/14001 system standards, supporting incident reduction, improved efficiency, and leadership accountability.